Apologize: Wasted Time
by Deficient
Summary: An unconscious Sasuke had been dragged back home by Naruto; two weeks the Uchiha was knocked out. After waking, he finds out his 'savior' is nowhere to be found... Yaoi/ManxMan. Don't like, too bad.


A/N: I DON'T OWN. DUH.

I found this on my old laptop, written like… three years ago and I just updated and wanted to know if it was worth pursuing… ;

Apologize: The Return

Two years ago…

Naruto had managed to drag Sasuke back, exerting himself beyond anything he had to do before. He had finally succeeded in doing it, pleased to know that he had it in him; however, he was not happy to say in the least. Surely everyone else in Konoha was, seeing as their Uchiha heir had returned, the Prodigy of Konoha. His happiness was shot down with the thoughts that he had not been listened to by the Uchiha since they first met. Though Naruto had acted like a fool as a mere genin, his ideas and words spoken were to be taken in and used, to keep harm from coming to Sasuke; yet, it was he who had hurt the Uchiha, and that sent Naruto over the edge.

After their return, he personally wrote a letter to Gaara, the Sand Countries Kazekage, asking to stay and help out there. Not giving any specific reason why, Naruto worried that Gaara wouldn't allow it, but when the reply came, he was surprised. It read, "I can't turn down the one who brought light to my darkness." At this response, a tear rolled down the Kyuubi vessel's cheek; it reminded him of Neji's words when they first went after Sasuke. He had failed then…

For two years, Naruto stayed in the Hidden Village of the Sand. He was now eighteen years old, just like the rest of team seven; the comrades he left behind because of his own self sorrow, pain that couldn't go away while in the presence of the others. Sakura had visited as often as possible, telling him about what was going on in Konoha and how Hokage-sama wished him to get back as soon as possible, seeing as she had held Naruto close to her heart, as if he was her own son as well as Naruto was arguably one of Konoha's most accomplished shinobi.

-----

When Sasuke was returned to Konoha, he was unconscious, and was in that state for nearly two weeks. By the time he had woken, expecting to see the round, childish face of Naruto, he woke to an empty room. At first, he didn't know what to think, he was back home, the real one; his home village. Shortly after his coming to, Sakura entered, Tsunade-sama at her side. Sakura managed to pull the Uchiha into an almost alarmingly joyous embrace, tears swelling up and streaming down her slender cheeks. At this time, Sasuke's inky hues slid shut, his head turning away from both of them.

"I really screwed up this time… didn't I?" was all that came out of the Uchiha, words almost foreign. The two hadn't replied, which was all that the Uchiha heir needed to know.

For the next two years, he lived only to do missions, trying to redeem himself. Even though the village forgave him, he didn't care. There was one person that mattered, the one who gave him the opportunity to start over, and yet, he was nowhere to be found. No one knew where he went, or at least they weren't telling him. He suspected the latter, since he noticed that Sakura had left every three weeks or so for about a week at a time. Sasuke would just have to wait, who knew; maybe he would never be able to right the worst wrong he ever made.

The Present…

The sun hung high noon over the Hidden Village in the Sand. Naruto stood beside Gaara as Sakura and Kakashi ascended to the room in which Naruto made home for the last two years. Naruto had only been expecting Sakura, but when the lazy silver haired nin entered the room, the blond quite literally jumped and charged at his old sensei, wrapping his arms about the elder's shoulders.

"…" Kakashi blinked some. His arms wrapped about the blond as well, but the blink wasn't because of the contact, it was because of where Naruto's arms reached. Naruto was now standing at least three inches past six foot, which was taller then his sensei. "You've… grown." Kakashi realized aloud, sporting a chuckle. "I shouldn't be too surprised… but…" Kakashi looked up just slightly to the blond, "I can't believe I am looking up at the runt I used to teach."

"I told you, Kakashi-sensei, he has changed," Sakura said with a beaming smile, moving over to Naruto, tugging him into a much more, compassionate embrace then that of the two men. "Naruto is a man now…" Sakura said, a faint smirk dancing over her lips.

"SAKURA!" Naruto stammered, pulling himself from the female while she threw her head back laughing. "It was a ONE time thing, Kakashi-sensei, I swear! She caught me at a bad time a—" Naruto was cut off by the elder's hand raising.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun. No need to get all defensive…" Kakashi muttered happily. "Oh, Kazekage, sorry for being so disrespectful, I got carried away."

"It's fine," Gaara replied, the same placid stare and voice, yet its pitch had dropped a little with the coming of age.

With the little conversation that followed, Naruto grabbed the single pack that held his personal belongings. Nothing in the room was his, it was furnished for him by Gaara, all because he was a guest in the Kazekage's house. Not long after the arrival of Sakura and Kakashi, the three Leaf nin along with the three siblings of the sand were gathered outside of the Sand village, three facing three.

"Thank you, Gaara, for everything," Naruto grinned, extending a hand this time. The last time they were like this, Gaara's sand had tugged his hand into the others. No more need for that, however. Temari smiled, a faint blush tainting her astonishing complexion. Naruto had grown very handsome over the last two years, working out almost to the extent of Lee, without all that Youth and Growth bull shit. His body was proportionate, well built and extremely defined. Skin an almost perfected tan thanks to constant exposure to the sun and his golden strands were now long enough to pull back into a small ponytail. The blush that donned Temari's face was from remembering the incident that she happened to bumped into Naruto coming back from his bath and the male's towel fell to his feet.

"Thank you, as well, Naruto," Gaara's hand slowly took over the blonde's and grasped on.

"Naruto, feel free to pop in sometime again," another voice rose, this time it was Kankuro's. A smile spread across his face and both Naruto and Kankaru nodded. The three sand nin and Naruto had grown close, it was almost as if he was one of their own.

"Take care, Naru-chan," it was now Temari's turn. She took a step forward, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek. Gaara actually chucked along with Kankaru at this action as a faint blush manifested upon the blonde's tanned flesh, the pink hue matching that of Temari's blush.

"Well, we better head off, Naruto-kun," Sakura vocalized almost rushed, the words laced with a subtle hint of jealousy, but she was right. They had a long way ahead of them. With that they finished their goodbyes and the three Leaf nin headed out. For the first day of travel, both Sakura and Kakashi informed him about everything, save for one topic, the Uchiha.

As they were making camp for the first night of their travels, Naruto set out for wood as Kakashi and Sakura set up camp. Naruto was gone for no more then three minutes and back with enough wood to last them the night, thanks to his shadow clone technique. For about half an hour, Naruto told them about his stay within the Sand Village and how their way of life was much different. But then, it came time for that one topic to come up, and it was done by none other then the one who had ran away from it two years ago.

"Does he know I am coming home…?" Naruto muttered, cerulean optics glistening from the flickering fire that they were fixated on. Naruto shifted uneasily, hating the uneasy feeling all the same.

"No, he doesn't," Kakashi replied, taking note that Sakura had fallen silent, her gaze dropping to the fire as well.

"Hn…" Naruto sounded, curling his knees to his chest as the defined arms hugged the curled limbs closer, his chin falling into the crevasse between the two knees. For the rest of that night, they remained pretty much quiet until one by one, they fell asleep, Naruto being the last of them. For the next two days, nothing happened but their normal chitchat.

-----

"GRANNY Tsunade!" Naruto mused for old times sake, throwing open the door to the Hokage's office.

"Ah, Bak--!" Tsunade cut off instantly expecting a little runt but quickly catching sight of the newly aged Naruto before

her; her mouth hung open staring at him. "You've…"

"Changed?" Naruto mused.

"Became handsome?" Sakura threw in as well, causing a faint rosy tint to flare at the blonde's cheeks.

"Both!" she exclaimed, getting up from her desk and moving over the Naruto, pulling him into a almost motherly embrace, more like a mother bear to be exact.

"Ah, Tsunade-sama!" Naruto flailed about at this before falling still and returning the gesture. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"It has, Naruto," Tsunade said with a nod, releasing the blond and moving back over towards her desk. "Sakura, Kakashi…" Tsunade started, "Do you think you can leave Naruto and I for a little? I have some things I must speak with him about." With that, Tsunade dropped into her chair. Both Kakashi and Sakura nodded and exited the office, closing the door behind them. A few moments of an uncomfortably silence took over. "You know why I wished to speak with you, don't you?"

"I do," Naruto replied quickly with a nod. "It's because of Sasuke, right?"

"Indeed." Tsunade sighed, turning her gaze to the window, it was a warm and bright day today, she thought. "Do you know what has become of him?" she asked, eyes sliding shut, waiting patiently for a reply.

"… only from what Sakura has told me…" Naruto started, turning his gaze to the floor. "She said all he does is train and do missions, even asking to take on extra ones just to preoccupy his time." Naruto let out a sigh, knowing fully well that it was his fault, but he, at the time, couldn't bear with seeing or even hearing the Uchiha's voice, let alone live with him.

"Well, then obviously you know he hasn't been the same, and it is you who can change that…" with the Hokage's words, Naruto shoulders sulked, he hated this feeling, knowing it was only he who could help the Uchiha. Everything that dealt with Sasuke, he hated having to do, worrying that he would fail his best friend and rival. "Naruto…" Tsunade voiced her concern at the drooping of the younger blonde's shoulders.

"Eh heh," there he went again, the fake appearance as if nothing was wrong, "don't worry Granny Tsunade, I'll get around to it…" Naruto told his elder using his pet name for her, which he often did in situations where he was uncomfortable; however, he wasn't sure when he would get around to it, so leaving an opened time restraint such as this made it easier upon him.

"Well, get around to it as soon as possible, okay, Naruto?" Tsunade almost commanded of him.

"Oii, okay… okay…" Naruto agreed, he'd rather not see Tsunade's wrath after just returning. With that Naruto stood and

slowly strolled to the exit of the Hokage's office. "See you, Tsunade-sama!" Naruto wove and exited, closing the door behind him.

"Oii…" she muttered under her breath, things were going either get better or get worse from here on out. Naruto and Sasuke were back in the same country, same village. Hopefully those two could work it out, if not, probably one of the worst battles would strike up between them, seeing as they were Konoha's two best shinobi. "Wait… no…" Tsunade muttered, it had just hit here full on as a delayed reaction would. Naruto was sporting a variant of the Fourth's hair style, and making it work perfectly. A soft chuckle resounded as she had finally resumed her paperwork.

-----

Sasuke, as always, was training out in the clearing that Team Seven had first done the bell test with Kakashi. It was where Naruto trained; it was now where the Uchiha trained. Sakura was there, watching the raven haired boy, her back pressed against the trunk of a tree. Kakashi was seated above the medic nin, a book in hand. No doubt it was Jiraiya's newest Icha Icha book from the series.

"Where have you two been for the last six days?" Sasuke muttered, plopping down beside Sakura, out of breath and in that usual calm deep baritone voice that had dropped with age. Back then, Sasuke would have never positioned himself this closely to the medic-nin, but ever since Naruto hadn't been around, she filled the void temporarily, causing them to become closer.

"Oh, we were delivering something for Tsunade-sama," Sakura replied, smiling sweetly. Sakura no longer was the horrible liar she once was, but the Uchiha still knew better.

"Why is Hokage-sama only sending you on these deliveries?" the raven haired male persisted, it seemed odd to him, and he was pretty sure why it was always her going.

"Why are you interested, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, looking up to the aged Prodigy of Konoha. Sasuke had grown into a man, his height reaching almost six feet, his body still slender but well defined. Porcelain skin, raven strands longer and a little spikier, despite drooping more then before. Sakura had gotten to watch Sasuke grow, so it wasn't a surprise to her when she fell short of the Uchiha's height, but every time she saw Naruto, she had gawked at the changes here and there.

"You should know that answer," she expected that reply, especially from Sasuke, but no, she had to double take it. It had come from Kakashi. Both Sasuke and Sakura looked up at him, but then Sakura's gaze feel to the ground.

"I guess you are right, Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura muttered. Now that Naruto was back, it was going to be hard to keep it hidden.

"Sasuke, I'd rather you hear this from us instead of someone else…" Kakashi started, Sakura snapped her head up at him.

"Kakashi! Are you sure?" She asked him, he nodded in return. "Sasuke-kun…"

"What is it?" the Uchiha was slowly getting more and more impatient. He suspected it to deal with a twat blond that they all knew so well, and that got him a little more fidgety then usual.

"Well…" Sakura continued at the outburst, "Naruto-kun--" she was cut off.

"Yeah?" Sasuke interrupted again at the mentioning of Naruto; it had been a long time since one of his team had brought about the Dobe in conversation so it surprised him, even if he had already been expecting it.

"Well," she paused again, "he is back…" she was finally able to spill it out. She looked up at Sasuke, his expression unreadable. This worried the medic nin. Even Kakashi could not read the Uchiha's face.

"He…" Sasuke started, dropping into a crouched position in front of the pink haired woman. "He came back with you two, didn't he?" the male's voice dropping, his excitement and jitteriness that was once there for that split second, instantly faded into the composed Uchiha persona, just like always. Sakura nodded. "Well, I guess I have finally been given the chance to redeem myself for what I did two years ago," the Uchiha muttered softly, his gaze shifting to the side to gaze over at the three wooden pillars jutting up from the ground.

"What do you mean, Sasuke-kun?" the pink haired girl inquired, a puzzled expression taking over her dazzling facial features. "The whole village has forgiven you, Tsunade-sama has even forgiven you and seems to act as if nothing happened..." she cut off looking up at the now closed inky depths. "What more could you want?" Sakura knew the answer, but it just seemed so natural to ask, as if she knew that the Uchiha would answer.

"…" Sasuke's mouth parted but then instantly shut, he wouldn't answer. If it wasn't obvious, then there was surly something wrong with Konoha's smartest shinobi.

"Sorry…" she happened to mutter before snapping her head up to Kakashi, who also looked down to her, his one visible eye flaring with worry. It was a chakra signature to none other then their beloved blonde.

-----

Just after leaving the Hokage's office, the first place Naruto decided to go to was his apartment, to get cleaned up and changed. The large duffle bag that was slung over his shoulder contained all the cloths that he had gotten out in the Sand Village. New outfits that Temari had picked out for him, clothing that was even better for movement then the old

orange and black jumpsuit that everyone was so accustomed to.

Once the travels to the small apartment were reached, the removed the keys from his pocket and unlocked the door and moved into the structure. Two years since he had been in here, but it looked as if he had never left.

"I guess leaving that spare key with Sakura really was worth it…" the blond mused to himself, dropping the bag to the floor after moving over to the couch and falling onto it. Pulling the back pack into his lap, Naruto unzipped it and shuffled through it's contents. "Too many differing cloths… I knew Temari would ruin my unyielding knack for only having one styled outfit…" the words were muttered with a smile. He knew he was going to miss them, but he had stayed there long enough and managed to accumulate enough money to actually afford a house here in Konoha… when he actually got around to looking for one. Removing a pair of dark green cargo styled pants and neatly coiled dark brown belt with dulled silver trinkets, a black t-shirt, and under garments; the aged blond stood and moved over to the restroom for his shower. Once the door closed behind him, his shirt was removed and then folded before being placed on the counter. Looking over his reflection for a few moment, a sigh escaped him as he looked away to continue relieving his form of the clothing. Folding both under garments and pant, he placed them upon the shirt and turned to turn on the water. Tapping his foot idly until the water heated up enough, a hand dropped to scratch at his lower stomach; where a trail of golden fuzz descended towards the member residing between both legs. The shower finally started to steam and the act of cleansing the body began. It was longer then usual, he was more relaxed being in his own home, and that sensation was welcomed; so Naruto hadn't rushed it. Once out, a towel was grabbed and used to quickly dry off his drenched body, save for his hair. Dressing himself in the casual outfit from the bag, he exited the bathroom and out into the main room of the apartment. Fishing his black combat boots from the bag, he slipped them on over a pair of socks. The boots were needed in the Sand Country, it was truly annoying to have grains of sand between one's toes. Pulling back the seeping wet golden locks, a band was tied around them; bangs left to hang on their own, cradling the curves of his face. With that last bit of getting ready, he exited the apartment and set off to the one place in all off Konoha that he spent the most time, his old training grounds.

Soooo…? Yay? Nay? Review, lemme know. 3


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